Francis Borgia

Francis Borgia (28 October 1510-30 September 1572) was Superior General of the Society of Jesus from 1565 to 1572, succeeding Diego Laynez and preceding Everard Mercurian.

Biography
Francis Borgia was born in Valencia, Spain on 28 October 1510, the grandson of Juan Borgia and the great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI. As a child, he was raised at the court of Emperor Charles V, and he accompanied him on several military campaigns. Charles V later appointed Borgia Marquess of Lombay, Master of the Hounds, and Equerry to the Empress, and he became Viceroy of Catalonia in 1539. Upon the death of his father in 1543, Borgia became the new Duke of Gandia, but his failure to secure a marriage alliance between Spain and Portugal led to his retirement from politics. After his wife died in 1546, Borgia decided to enter the Society of Jesus, and his travels took him as far as Peru in South America. Borgia felt drawn to seclusion and prayer, and he refused Pope Julius III's request for him to become a cardinal. In 1545, he succeeded Diego Laynez as Superior General of the Society of Jesus, and he founded what would become the Gregorian University, advised kings and popes, and supervised all affairs of the rapidly expanding order, all while living a humble life. He died in 1572, and he was canonized by Pope Clement X in 1670.